Key Personality Traits Research Articles

Human Personality Assessment Based on Gait Pattern Recognition Using Smartphone Sensors

Human personality assessment using gait pattern recognition is one of the most recent and exciting research domains. Gait is a person’s identity that can reflect reliable information about his mood, emotions, and substantial personality traits under scrutiny. This research focuses on recognizing key personality traits, including neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, in line with the big-five model of personality. We inferred personality traits based on the gait pattern recognition of individuals utilizing built-in smartphone sensors. For experimentation, we collected a novel dataset of 22 participants using an android application and further segmented it into six data chunks for a critical evaluation. After data pre-processing, we extracted selected features from each data segment and then applied four multiclass machine learning algorithms for training and classifying the dataset corresponding to the users’ Big-Five Personality Traits Profiles (BFPT). Experimental results and performance evaluation of the classifiers revealed the efficacy of the proposed scheme for all big-five traits.

Scientific venturing for early-stage professionals (ESPs), a key concept in the innovation ecosystem

Early-stage professionals (ESPs) and senior scientists who want to transition from academia to the industry need support to develop new skills and know-how to endeavor this challenge. However, this topic is significantly underserved in the field of cell and gene therapy, slowing down ESPs' potential to make this step. The authors of this article, members of the ESPs in the South and Central America Subcommittee at the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy, propose the concept of “scientific venturing,” which stands for the process by which scientists become entrepreneurs or part of a company. In our article, we provide key aspects to understand this concept, considering key personality traits that need to be developed and a discussion about the “innovation ecosystem.” Later, we consider how scientific venturing may result in an increase in difficulty in nascent innovation ecosystems such as Latin America, in comparison with those more advanced and mature in high-income countries. Finally, we provide key information for the ESPs and other professionals about the stages of private and public investment, including information about the resources needed for the sustainability of companies and startups. Understanding what scientific venturing involves for ESPs is key to taking advantage of the maturity of an innovation ecosystem, its network, and available opportunities.

The practical challenges faced by young entrepreneurs: an empirical analysis

PurposeThis study proposes a new comprehensive model of entrepreneurial intentions (EIs) that enhances the understanding of the crucial entrepreneurial personality traits. This study also examines how entrepreneurial family history, gender and discipline moderate the relationship between the key entrepreneurial personality traits and EIs of university students.Design/methodology/approachThe study introduces a new combination of important entrepreneurial personality traits, theoretically following the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). The data are collected using an entrepreneurial intention questionnaire and analysed with structural equation modelling (SEM) over a sample of 297 university students from Pakistan.FindingsThe findings highlight that one of the notable contributions to assessing EI is the negative impact of foreseeable challenges (FCs), resulting in negative EIs among university students of our sample. The authors also found significant moderating roles of gender, discipline and entrepreneurial family history in strengthening the relationship between entrepreneurial traits and EIs.Originality/valueThe study contributes both to the existing empirical and theoretical literature by examining a key set of entrepreneurial personality traits leading to enhance EIs. The results may also assist academicians to discover new ways for developing entrepreneurial traits among university students.

Illicit drug use and male barroom aggression among members of the Australian construction industry: Associations with personality and masculinity factors.

IntroductionIllicit drug use has been found to increase the risks of male barroom aggression (MBA). Personality traits such as dispositional aggressiveness have been associated with illicit substance use and aggressive behaviour, along with social normative masculinity factors. The present study assessed the relationships between illicit drug use, key personality (trait aggression, impulsivity, narcissism) and masculinity (conformity to masculine norms, male honour) variables with physical MBA perpetration and victimisation among male Australian construction workers.MethodsA purposive, high‐risk sample of male construction workers aged 18–69 years (n = 476, M age = 25.90 years, SDage = 9.44) completed interviews at their place of work or training.ResultsParticipants reported high rates of both physical MBA perpetration (21%; n = 100) and victimisation (31.1%; n = 148) as well as any illicit drug use (33.61%; n = 160). Logistic regressions revealed the use of amphetamine‐type stimulants (methamphetamine, ecstasy) was associated with violence perpetration, even after accounting for high‐intensity drinking (HID) which was the strongest predictor of MBA involvement. Trait variables (Trait Physical aggressiveness, narcissism) and the masculine norm CMNI Violence were also risk factors for MBA perpetration while CMNI Playboy was protective against MBA.Discussion and ConclusionsThe use of amphetamine‐type stimulants is a risk‐factor for MBA perpetration, as are key personality traits such as aggressiveness and narcissism. Most aspects of masculinity, including male honour, were either unrelated to or protective against involvement in physical violence in bars, clubs or pubs.

Evaluating e-commerce website qualities: personality traits as triggers

PurposeThe five-factor model (FFM), a popular personality typology that identifies five key personality traits, has been used to predict use intention in various e-commerce applications, but the role of FFM in triggering certain evaluations of the various quality dimensions of e-commerce websites has not been examined, revealing a gap, i.e. the authors do not know how the five personality traits impact evaluations of the quality dimensions of e-commerce websites. The 3Q model—which comprises system quality (SysQ), information quality (IQ), and service quality (SQ), spanning 13 quality dimensions—is helpful for evaluating website quality, but the model neglects user characteristics and their impacts on quality evaluation, posing another gap, i.e. the authors do not know how user characteristics impact the user's evaluation of quality dimensions. Thus, the authors used the FFM to extend the 3Q model to explain how user personality predicts the evaluation of websites in the 13 quality dimensions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used an online survey to collect responses from 392 online shoppers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe authors found that openness in a shopper predicts their favorable evaluation of a website in the quality dimensions of format and flexibility; conscientiousness predicts favorable evaluation in terms of completeness, accuracy, currency, timeliness, and service reliability; neuroticism predicts unfavorable evaluation in terms of reliability, accessibility, and assurance; and extraversion predicts favorable evaluation in terms of responsiveness; while agreeableness did not predict empathy.Originality/valueIn sum, the authors successfully used the FFM to theoretically extend the 3Q model, which clarifies the usefulness and pathways of personality in formulating strategies for e-commerce success.

Creative productivity of elderly scientists

The article presents the results of studying the personality characteristics of elderly scientists who have maintained scientific productivity for a long time. The problem that has to be solved and has got a huge scientific and practical significance is to find the psychological preconditions for the peak achievements of scientists and to define the social and psychological factors that contribute to maintaining the high productivity of elderly scientists for a long time.The aim of the study is to determine the key personality traits of famous elderly scientists at the stages of their professional development.Research methods. The presented data were obtained using the research interview “Life Values and Life Path”, developed by V.S. Mukhina. Empirical material was collected in the course of interviewing famous Russian scientists of older age (from 65 to 94 years old), involved in research activities and making a significant contribution to the development of the humanities and technical sciences. When forming the sample, we followed the logic of V.S. Mukhina, who interviewed older scientists who are the founders and leaders of well-known scientific schools, who have a doctorate in science, the academic title of professor, membership in the academy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences or Russian Academy of Education and continue active scientific work. Data on the peak achievements of older scientists were taken from the scientometric databases of the Russian Science Citation Index and the Russian State Library.Results. The data representing the peak achievements of the elderly scientists were taken from the scientometric databases and interpreted according to the provisions of differential and acmeological analysis for professional activities of scientists. The analysis of interviews, autobiographical descriptions and peak achievements of the elderly scientists allowed to reveal that the peak achievement (acme) is the joint result of psychological preconditions (personal traits of scientists, physical conditions) and social conditions of professional activity (social status of a scientist, belonging to a scientific school, availability of organizational and financial resources). The several productive periods, which are called within the acmeology field as “micro-acme”, can be indicated in the scientific work of elderly scientists throughout the period of their scientific activity. At the same time, the peak achievements of scientists as a rule are spaced in time with an optimal combination of preconditions and conditions for scientific creativity.

Nostalgia and Spirituality

Abstract. We investigated the relation between nostalgia and spirituality. We hypothesized that nostalgia is linked to greater spirituality through self-continuity and, in turn, meaning in life. In Study 1, we measured nostalgia and spirituality. Nostalgia predicted greater spirituality. In Study 2, we tested this relation in a nationally representative sample. Nostalgia again predicted greater spirituality, and this relation remained significant after controlling for key demographic variables and core personality traits. In Study 3, we manipulated nostalgia and measured self-continuity, meaning in life, and spirituality. Nostalgia predicted spirituality serially via self-continuity and meaning in life.

Personality traits affect older adults' memory differently depending on the environmental support provided at encoding

Research suggests that personality traits are associated with memory performance, particularly as people age. In two studies, we examined two personality traits (openness to experience and neuroticism) that have been hypothesized to modulate episodic memory performance in older adults. We tested the hypothesis that these traits would be differently associated with episodic memory according to the amount of cognitive support provided at encoding. We examined the role of these personality traits in free recall when performance was supported by prior task success versus no prior task success (Experiment 1) and by generating versus reading (Experiment 2). Results showed that prior task success and generating items led to superior memory performance. In both studies, openness to experience was positively associated with memory performance and neuroticism was negatively associated with memory performance. Further, openness accounted for the most variability in recall performance under conditions providing low cognitive support and neuroticism, on the other hand, accounted for recall in both high and low support conditions. Results suggest that neuroticism is a key personality trait implicated in memory performance, but for the most difficult memory tasks, a high level in openness may aid memory performance.

I am Not What I Like: Endorsing Brands on Social Media Negatively Affects Consumers’ Self-Evaluation

To what extent do consumers incorporate the identity of brands they endorse on social media into their self-concept? We argue that, contrary to popular belief, online brand endorsements may not necessarily lead to inclusion of the brand into the self and may, consequently, lead to contrast effects that negatively affect consumers’ self-evaluations. We test our hypotheses across five studies and find that consumers who endorse a brand on social media subsequently negatively adjust their self-evaluations on traits that reflect the brand's key personality traits. This effect occurs only if they endorse the brand (i.e., by “liking” or “following” it), but not when they just visit the brand's social media page. Moreover, the effect is moderated by brand symbolism, with stronger effects if the brand is perceived to have low brand symbolism. The downwards shift in consumers’ self-evaluations negatively affects brand outcomes. We also explore the role of incentives as counter mechanism. In conclusion, our findings reveal a dark side to promoting consumer endorsement of brands on social media, one with implications not only for consumers but also for brands.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN’S CREATIVITY FORMATION

The article contains a substantiation of the urgency of the issue of preschool children’s creativity formation. A number of approaches to defining the category ‘creativity,’ its components, and parameters for assessing creativity are analyzed. It is noted that modern science contains different approaches to creativity analysis and defines it as the ability to produce new, original ideas and offer non-standard solutions. It is emphasized that the category ‘creativity’ is used in some scientific studies as a synonym for ‘creation,’ but has its specific features. Creative activity is the foundation, a prerequisite for the individual’s creative potential development. It is indicated that preschool age is a sensitive period for creative component development. Creativity is defined as one of a preschool child’s key personality traits, which characterizes the child’s active position, readiness for spontaneous decisions, curiosity, ability to verbally comment on the process and result of their activities, stable motivation, developed imagination, and ability to create creative images, which are original, varied and mobile.
 The article identifies the main psychological and pedagogical conditions for preschool children’s creativity formation. In particular, it emphasizes the need for a favorable psychological atmosphere, which provides a friendly attentive attitude on the part of the adult, support, praise, avoidance of inadequate criticism. Emphasis is placed on the need to create a developmental environment, all elements of which must contain the necessary incentives for creative potential, novelty, problems, designed to ensure and stimulate free choice and change of the child’s activities, to create problem situations relevant for their and available for their development. It is noted that essential conditions for creativity formation are the use of various means (experimentation, fairy tale) and the involvement of the child in various activities (play, art). Attention is focused on the fact that one of the factors of successful preschool children’s creativity formation is an adult. They should offer a personal example of a creative approach to non-standard problem solving, provide a positive example of creative behavior and create conditions for its imitation.

Are reinforcement sensitivity personality constructs and attentional control important predictors of restrictive disordered eating?

The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) perspective on personality suggests that a neuropsychological behavioural inhibition system (BIS), behavioural approach system (BAS), and a fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) produce the key personality traits involved in approach and avoidance behaviours. This perspective on personality can be used as a framework for understanding psychopathology. Self-report research on rRST suggests that restrictive disordered eating relates to elevated BIS sensitivity, elevated FFFS sensitivity, and possibly dysfunctional BAS sensitivity. Disordered eating can also relate to reduced trait mindfulness, which is a broadly defined construct. Trait mindfulness is positively correlated with attentional control (AC) which is a more specific component of our cognitive architecture that incorporates attentional focusing and attentional shifting processes. It is unknown how BIS and AC interact to predict restrictive disordered eating. We tested how self-reported BIS, BAS, and FFFS sensitivity, AC, and trait mindfulness relate to restrictive disordered eating in 464 healthy participants, and 177 participants with a history of psychiatric disorder. We provide new evidence that elevated restrictive disordered eating relates to reduced self-reported AC abilities (in addition to elevated BIS, and elevated FFFS sensitivity). We illustrate that the combination of high BIS and low AC predicts high levels of restrictive disordered eating (but not in all participants), whereas low BIS and high AC predicts lower levels of restrictive disordered eating (but not in all participants). We discuss how understanding the relationship between personality and attentional control can inform the design of future intervention studies.

Personality traits and entrepreneurial intention among Chartered Accountancy students

Entrepreneurial intention plays a decisive role in the process of becoming an entrepreneur. It is not only the prerequisite for establishing a business but it also influences an individual’s behavior. This study aims to investigate the impact of three key personality traits of a prospective entrepreneur (entrepreneurial passion, creativity, and self-efficacy) in shaping their entrepreneurial intention. It is proposed that entrepreneurial passion, creativity, and self-efficacy positively influence entrepreneurial intention. Primary data were collected from 408 Chartered Accountancy (CA) students of the National Capital Region (NCR) of India with the help of a structured questionnaire. The cluster sampling method was used to select the sample from the targeted population. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results establish that the entrepreneurial intention of CA students is significantly influenced by their creativity, entrepreneurial passion, and self-efficacy, as all three traits allow an entrepreneur to identify opportunities with profit potential. A student who is passionate, creative, and confident in exploiting the new business idea will develop an intention to become an entrepreneur. The present study contributes to the literature by investigating the entrepreneurial intention of CA students, which has not been explored earlier. The significance of this study facilitates academicians and accounting organizations to focus on the personality traits of students, which helps in developing entrepreneurial intention in them.

Psychoanalytic Explanation of Key Personality Traits of Instagram Micro-celebrities: A Qualitative Study

Background: With the growing use of social networks, a large number of studies have investigated their psychological effects. Previous research has demonstrated that virtual networks, especially Instagram, negatively affect users’ mental health and make them vulnerable to mental disorders. However, the studies have been descriptive and provide descriptive statements; hence, they do not contribute to in-depth understanding of such vulnerability. Accordingly, qualitative studies should be conducted to delve into this phenomenon. Objectives: This article aimed to understand the key personality traits of popular Iranian Instagram users, assuming that the networks make individuals psychoanalytically vulnerable to clinical outcomes. Methods: Regarding the research method, the deductive content analysis was adopted for the data extracted from semi-structured in-depth interviews with users having > 10,000 followers. Psychodynamic diagnostic manual, PDM-2 second edition, and the structured analysis matrix were considered to make sense of the collected data. Results: The results demonstrated that the dominant key personality traits in popular Instagram users were narcissism with three subcategories (namely narcissistic central tension, pathogenic belief about oneself, and pathogenic belief about others) and depression with two subcategories (namely depressive pathogenic belief about oneself and pathogenic belief about others). Conclusions: According to the findings, the structures and categories underpinning our experiences by Instagram are inherently narcissistic. Rather than changing individuals’ dynamics, Instagram promotes this intellectual and communicative style inversely by normalizing it and reinforcing the narcissistic personality disorder established by the family and cultural structure of society.

Moderators for the association between genotypes of the HTR1A ‐rs6295 or HTR2A ‐rs6311 polymorphisms and efficacy of SSRI treatment among the patients of Malay ethnic group

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) has high level of morbidity. It shows great inter-individual difference in treatment responses and a complete absence of reliable biomarkers. Hypothesis The evaluations between genotypes of HTR1A-rs6295 or HTR2A-rs6311 with clinical treatment efficacy response (CTER) based on clinical and sociodemographic features can unravel a significant association result. Aim To identify moderators for the association between CTER with genotypes of HTR1A-rs6295 or HTR2A-rs6311 in a population of Malay MDD patients. Objectives 1. To determine the association between genotypes of HTR1A-rs6295 or HTR2A-rs6311 with CTER when patients are categorized based on their history of chronic disease and family history of psychiatric illness 2. To determine the association between genotypes of HTR1A-rs6295 or HTR2A-rs6311 with CTER when patients are categorized based on the presence or absence of a number of personality trait types. 3. To determine the association between genotypes of HTR1A-rs6295 or HTR2A-rs6311 with CTER when patients are categorized based on key socio-demographic features. Methodology Ethical approval from appropriate authorities (NMRR-14-688-19696) and informed consent from the MDD patients were obtained before recruitment. Patient were recruited over 2 years and provided blood for genotyping of the HTR1A-rs6295 and HTR2A-rs6311. Clinical features, socio-demography, responses to Montogemery Asberg depression rating scale-self (MADRS-S) and Temperament /Personality questionnaires were obtained. Appropriate statistics for the association of the genotypes and CTER based on individual socio-demographic and clinical features was done. Result The 142 patients were Muslims (100%), young (median age = 31.50 years), females (67.6%) and low income earners (62.7%). Patients carrying the CG+GG genotype of the HTR1A-rs6295 who have effectiveness (not the self-criticism traits) had significantly lower odd (P = 0.016, OR = 0.099 (0.011 – 0.860)) for clinical treatment efficacy response (CTER). A Similar result in patients carrying the GG genotype of the HTR1A-rs6295 polymorphism who do not have anxious-worrying, social avoidance, inter-personal sensitivity, effectiveness, cooperativeness, perfectionism and irritability. Unmarried patients with the GG-HTR1A-rs6295 genotype have a significantly lower odd P = 0.029 (OR = 0.126 (CI = 0.015 -1.058)) for CTER . Low income earners who have the CC-HTR1A-rs6295 have higher odd for CTER. Failure of CTER was significantly more among patients who have no history of any chronic disease and possess the HTR1A-rs6295-GG or HTR2A-rs6311-GA genotypes. Conclusion The association of the genotypes of HTR1A-rs6295 or HTR2A-rs6311 polymorphism with CTER was observed in patients who were married, of low income earning, diagnosed with a chronic disease and have some key personality traits with the exception of effectiveness trait.

Investigating the impacts of personality traits on collaborative consumption intention of luxury fashion products among middle-aged women

Collaborative consumption (CC) refers to the shared use of products or services in order to save costs and redistribute resources in a more sustainable way among the different agents participating in sharing economies. With the rapid popularity of CC in recent years, more and more academic research has been carried out on CC, but research exploring the impact of personality traits on consumer behavior is largely limited. To our best knowledge, existing research fails to explore CC applied to the luxury apparel context. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the impact of consumer personality traits on their attitudes and intention toward CC of luxury fashion products. This study draws a framework based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) model introducing key personality traits, particularly, materialism, fashion leadership, and need for uniqueness as CC attitude and CC intention predictors. This research uses PLS-SEM technique to analyze the data collected through a questionnaire administered to middle-aged Spanish women. The results indicate that fashion leadership had a positive influence on attitude toward CC and CC intention. Secondly, we found that consumer need for uniqueness significantly influenced attitude but had no significant impact on intention. Materialism on the other hand did not display a significant relationship with either CC attitude or intention. By contrast, attitude towards CC was determined to have a strong positive influence on CC intention. We believe that the findings as well as the proposed research model can be helpful to managers when developing CC based business models and valuable to academics in developing related theories.

Concise survey measures for the Big Five personality traits

With a few notable exceptions, sociologists, economists, and public opinion researchers have generally neglected the role of personality in status attainment, well-being, and related research on non-cognitive skills. This is partly because the existing measurement instruments for the well-known Big Five personality traits are far too long for inclusion in the large nationwide (as opposed to clinical) surveys where status attainment and well-being are typically analyzed. Accordingly, with the goal of identifying a powerful, concise collection of items measuring key personality traits, we included the classical full 60-item NEO-5 personality test measurements in a special follow-up to the Czech edition of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC; n = 2198). Using classical measurement techniques of factor analysis, supplemented by structural equation analyses which also take into account correlations with criterion variables, we assess the value of the different potential items. We arrive at a concise set that, for general social science as opposed to clinical purposes, adequately measures two of the Big Five personality traits: extraversion (4 items) and conscientiousness (4 items). We also find an empirically highly reliable measure of third, neuroticism (6 items), but have some doubts about its conceptual meaning. We do not find adequate measures of openness to experience or to agreeableness, the remainder of the Big Five.

HYPOADAPTIVE STRATEGY OF MEANING BUILDING AS A MANIFESTATION OF PERSONALITY INFANTILISM

The processes of meaning building act as adaptive mechanisms for the reaction of the experiencing individual to changes in the external and internal world. The building of personal meanings is based on a s meaning choice that reflects the preferences of the individual in the direction of his development. The mismatch and unevenness of the biological, mental and social development of a person can lead to an insufficient level of adaptation in the form of personality infantilism. Such immaturity of the personality may be associated with incomplete formation of the emotional-volitional sphere, due to the predominance of children's character traits, the influence of upbringing and relationships with parents. The reasons for personal infantilism are the constant acceleration of scientific and technological progress, cultural variability of society, unclear prospects for life development, high competition in the professional and social sphere. An infantile person experiences difficulties in terms of regulating his activities, lack of reflection, has gaps and deformations in moral self-regulation. This leads to shortcomings in the value- meaning, educational, legal, political, socio-economic, family spheres, in the field of vocational guidance and development. Such a passive adaptation of the s meaning sphere as an insufficient manifestation of the key personality traits in situational interactions reflects a hypoadaptive meaning strategy. Signs of a mature personality: competent professional work and independent development in the chosen field of activity, stable personal and family relationships, subjectivity in relations with parents in the form of territorial and economic independence, consistent development of the range of mental, social roles and transcendental roles in various social groups, the ability to personal self-determination of the experiencing subject in relations with other people.

Betting the farm and playing it safe? Hyper-core self-evaluation in decisions when managers are winning and losing

Core self-evaluation summarizes a decision maker’s self-worth. This key personality trait has been shown to lead to extreme performance consequences of either winning or losing big. We suggest that these extreme performance outcomes may partly rest in how core self-evaluation affects executive’s perception and evaluation of risk in choices under uncertainty. We conducted a choice experiment building on the original prospect theory experiments with 97 executives, in which we measured the effect of core self-evaluation on risk behavior. As a robustness test, we replicated and validated our findings with a larger sample of 111 executives. Building on the tenets of prospect theory, we show that decision makers with high levels of core self-evaluation are less loss averse. Surprisingly, this effect differs depending on whether gains or losses are highlighted in the decision. For gains, higher levels of core self-evaluation are associated with behaviors that are closer to risk neutrality. For losses, however, we find that higher levels of core self-evaluation further enhance the risk-seeking behavior of decision makers. These findings contribute towards understanding the effects of core self-evaluation in the work environment as well as in the decision process and provide an additional lens for studying how the personality of executives affects choices under uncertainty.

Healthcare employee's personality traits and service quality: Do team relationships matter?

Abstract Background Employee personality is an important factor that affects healthcare service delivery. It appears from the literature that customers perceive employees with personality traits of conscientiousness and agreeableness as more reliable and empathetic and therefore will rank higher service quality. Relationships between team members also affect the perception of service quality. The research examined whether healthcare employees' personality traits (conscientiousness and agreeableness) are related to their perception of service quality, mediated by the quality of team relationships (trust among team members, peer support, and participation in decision-making). Methods First, 35 nurses (Israeli college students completing their BA) were asked to rate 22 items based on the Big Five Personality Traits, that most influence employee relationships. The two prominent personality traits were conscientiousness and agreeableness. Next, 174 self-administered questionnaires were completed by nurses who are college students completing their BA (72% return rate). The questionnaire examined personality traits (conscientiousness and agreeableness), service quality, and employee relationships (trust among team members, peer support, and participation in decision-making). Results The mediation model was significant [F(4, 169)=35.03, p < 0.001, R Square=0.45]. However, only trust among team members was found as a mediator between employee personality and perceptions of service quality. Conclusions Employee personality characterized by conscientiousness and agreeableness encourages trust-based employee relationship, which in turn positively affect the quality of service provided. Healthcare organizations should consider this in their human resources policies and procedures, in order to improve healthcare services. Key messages Employee's personality traits are relevant to healthcare service quality. Nurturing trust among healthcare employees may result in improved healthcare services.

The Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor and Serotonin Polymorphisms in Stress-Related Personality and Psychiatric Symptoms

Background: Diathesis-stress perspectives of cardiovascular (CV) health and disease have long identified the important role of a host of mental health risk and protective factors in both illness course and recovery. Few studies, however, have investigated these factors within the same sample of healthy people. Aims and Objectives: Accordingly, we focused on the inter-relationships among well-established CV mental health risk factors, specifically childhood adversity, stress-related adult personality traits and psychiatric symptoms, and naturally occurring genetic polymorphisms. Materials and Methods: Here 100 college students completed the NEO Five Factor Model of personality in conjunction with measures of childhood adversity, psychiatric symptoms as well as genetic variables derived from assays of the serotonin transporter (5-HTTLPR) and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Results: Single gene comparisons pointed to lower CV risk, as reflected in personality and psychiatric symptom measures for BDNF Met versus Val/Val carriers. In addition, polygenic comparisons revealed a significant BDNF x 5-HTTLPR interactional effect, suggesting that this particular allelic combination may moderate the phenotypic expression of key personality traits, namely neuroticism and extraversion, as well as psychiatric symptoms, all linked to cardiovascular health. In fact, the data showed across personality and symptom measures, evidence of stress-resistance, resilience and protection for carriers of the allelic pair, BDNF Met and 5-HTTLPR-S. Conclusions: The findings suggested the Met variant of the BDNF gene had a risk-reducing and health-promoting effect when paired with the short serotonin allele, arguably reversing the commonly reported 5-HTTLPR-S association with stress vulnerability.